Ballistic impact deflection element for hanging a metal target at a practice shooting range

ABSTRACT

An assembly useful for hanging metal shooting targets from a hanging strap for home practice use or in a target or practice range. The assembly includes a metal target with a body having a hole extending through it from a front planar surface to a rear planar surface. The assembly includes mounting bolt including a head with a body extending from a front surface to a rear surface. The bolt includes a shank extending from the rear surface to a threaded section. The front surface of the body of the bolt head is tapered from a sidewall of the body of the bolt head to a central point to have a conical shape. Particularly, the front surface of the body of the bolt head can be tapered at a taper angle in the range of 40 to 80 degrees such as with the taper angle being about 60 degrees.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Pat. Appl. No. 63/298,513, filed Jan. 11, 2022, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present description is directed toward equipment for use at target or practice shooting ranges, and, more particularly, to a new metal target assembly for practice shooting ranges designed for repeated use with an extended life.

BACKGROUND

Across the United States, there are numerous indoor and outdoor shooting ranges in the United States open to the public. Either privately owned firearms or those rented from the shooting range may be used depending on the range rules set by the owner. Some ranges rent their own handguns and provide instruction in use of rental guns at shooting ranges by a range master or similar individual to help one to easily learn use of any rental firearm in just a few minutes. Major tourist destinations in gun-friendly U.S. States have such “rental ranges” to cater to the domestic and international tourists that want to try their hand at the shooting sports. Each shooting range facility in the United States is typically overseen by one or more range masters to ensure gun safety rules are always stringently followed. The expected number of ranges and those who use these ranges to learn how to use handguns, rifles, and other guns is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years.

At a typical practice shooting range, the shooters will aim and fire at stationary targets that are positioned some distance from the shooting area such as 50 to 300 yards depending upon the gun and ammunition being used in the practice session. In some settings, metal targets are used that are configured and designed to withstand large impact forces and are designed for reuse.

For example, steel targets often are used in practice ranges and for private practice, and these shooting targets can be made of hardened (martensitic) steel. Steel or other metal targets are used in long range shooting and field target, as well as recreational shooting. They are popular in both training and competitions because the shooter gets instant acoustic feedback on a successful impact and can often also visually confirm hits by seeing the bullet getting pulverized, leaving a mark on the surface paint, or moving/knocking down the target. Hanging steel plates (or “gongs”) or self-resetting steel targets also have the advantage that the shooter does not need to go forward downrange to tape the targets, making it a good option for shooting ranges. Steel targets also are weatherproof, contrary to paper targets, which do not hold up in rain and wind gusts.

While metal targets remain popular, there are several challenges with their use. The components used to mount or hang the targets also must be durable and often will become damaged and ruined for reuse when impacted with bullets. In some cases, they can also produce undesirable ricochets that can be a safety concern or damage nearby structures or equipment. Hence, there remains a need for improved ways to provide a hanging metal target or gong for use in shooting or target practice.

SUMMARY

To address these and other needs of shooting ranges and private users of metal (e.g., steel) targets, a target hanging assembly or system was designed by the inventor for use in hanging a metal target. The target hanging assembly includes a metal (e.g., steel) bolt designed to act not only as a mounting or hanging component for a metal target (e.g., a planar rectangular-shaped target or the like) but also as a ballistic impact deflection element. The steel bolt design of the hanging assembly is used to replace conventional fasteners and bolts currently used to hang or affix metal targets for target practice at target ranges.

The hanging assembly makes use of a bolt with a new design, including a cone-shaped head, that allows it to take advantage of its geometer and material properties to safely absorb and also redirect high energy projectiles including high-speed bullets in a safer manner. When a hard object, such as a steel plate (i.e., a metal target) and a conventional bolt used to hang a target, is impacted by a high-speed projectile, damage occurs to the steel plate and conventional bolt. In contrast, the design features of the present target hanging assembly will allow for the resulting high-speed fragmentation and surface detonation of the projectile and resulting shrapnel or spalling to be controlled and redirected by a tapered front cone shape of the mounting bolt or its head.

More particularly, an assembly is taught herein that is useful for hanging metal shooting targets from a hanging strap for home practice use or in a target or practice range. The assembly includes a metal target with a body having a hole extending through it from a front planar surface to a rear planar surface. Significantly, the assembly further includes mounting bolt including a head with a body extending from a front surface to a rear surface. The bolt includes a shank extending from the rear surface to a threaded section. A nut is included in the assembly for mating with the threaded section after insertion of the shank of the bolt through the hole in the metal target and through the hanging strap.

According to one unique aspect of the assembly, the front surface of the body of the bolt head is tapered from a sidewall of the body of the bolt head to a central point to have a conical shape. Particularly, the front surface of the body of the bolt head can be tapered at a taper angle in the range of 40 to 80 degrees such as with the taper angle being about 60 degrees. The body may be cylindrical in shape with a height in the range of 0.25 to 2.0 inches and with an outer diameter in the range of 0.5 to 2.5 inches. In some implementations, the mounting bolt is formed of a metal (e.g., steel that may be heat treated) with a Rockwell hardness in the range of 48 to 60 HRC.

In some embodiments of the target hanging assembly, the shank includes a blank section proximate to the threaded section and a section with three or more sides proximate to the bolt head. In such embodiments, the hole in the body of the metal target may have a cross sectional shape configured for receiving the section with three or more sides of the shank (e.g., both the hole and the shank inner portion may have triangular, square, hexagon, or other faceted or sided shapes to limit turning of the bolt when tightening the nut on the threaded section).

In some implementations of the assembly, the assembly also includes a washer, and the rear surface of the body of the bolt head includes a centrally located (e.g., with concurrent central axes) counterbored surface configured for receiving the washer. In some of these implementations, the counterbored surface has a depth less than a thickness of the washer. In these and other implementations, the body of the bolt head may be cylindrical in shape and include a tool access hole or recessed surface located between the front and rear surfaces. The tool access hole or recessed surface can be shaped and sized to receive a portion of a tool used to restrain rotation of the mounting bolt while concurrently tightening the nut on the threaded section. In such cases, after assembling of the assembly is completed, the bolt head may preferably be oriented with the tool access hole or recessed surface proximate to a corner of the body of the metal target.

The foregoing is a summary and thus may contain simplifications, generalizations, and omissions of detail; consequently, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. For a better understanding of the embodiments, together with other and further features and advantages thereof, reference is made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The scope of the embodiments will be pointed out in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a side perspective view of a mounting bolt (or hanging bolt) of a target hanging assembly of the present description.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a target hanging assembly including the bolt of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a side perspective view of the target hanging assembly of FIG. 2 after fully assembly has been completed.

FIG. 4 is a side perspective view similar to FIG. 3 with the metal target or plate shown to be semi-transparent.

FIG. 5 illustrates a side perspective view of another exemplary mounting bolt (or hanging bolt) of a target hanging assembly of the present description.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a target hanging assembly including the bolt of FIG. 5 .

FIG. 7 is a side perspective view of the target hanging assembly of FIG. 6 after fully assembly has been completed.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view of the assembly of FIG. 7 toward the completion of assembly with opposing forces applied by a tool (not shown) in the receiving or tool-access hole in the bolt and a wrench turning the nut.

FIG. 9 illustrates a side perspective view of an additional mounting bolt (or hanging bolt) of a target hanging assembly of the present description.

FIG. 10 illustrates a perspective view of the bolt of FIG. 9 with a compression washer inserted within the recessed surface or counterbore surface on the rear or second surface/side of the body of the bolt head.

FIG. 11 is an exploded view of a target hanging assembly including the bolt of FIG. 9 including the washer as shown in FIG. 10 disposed between the bolt head and the target's front surface/side.

FIG. 12 is a side perspective view of the target hanging assembly of FIG. 11 after fully assembly has been completed.

FIG. 13 is a side sectional view of the assembly of FIG. 12 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In brief, the present description teaches a target hanging assembly for use with metal targets such as conventional steel targets in shooting ranges and other environments. The target hanging assembly includes a bolt with a unique head design to limit damage upon impact (e.g., to absorb impacts from bullets) and also control deflections or ricochets. The bolt includes a head with a tapered or conical top surface rather than a conventional flat or cylindrical head of a conventional fastener used to hang steel targets.

The target hanging assembly with its new bolt design provides several very useful and desirable advantages over conventional hanging equipment. When used to support or hang a metal target, the hanging assembly is configured such that projectiles including bullets that impact the components of the hanging assembly will not fly back in the direction from which they came (i.e., will not ricochet) toward the source. This is in large part due to the top surface of the bolt head being conical in shape or being tapered (e.g., at a taper angle of 60 degrees or more). In some embodiments, the top surface of the head extends from a cylindrical body, and a small access hole is provided in the body to allow a tool to be inserted into the head. This allows a user to securely hold the bolt in place from the front face of the target via the bolt head while a nut of the target hanging assembly is tightened from the rear face of the target (e.g., with a wrench) during target mounting (or loosened upon disassembly and replacement with a new target).

The bolt, including the head, are formed of high tensile strength materials, such as 4140 Grade steel, with heat treatments such that it has a hardness in the range of HRC 48 to 60 on the Rockwell hardness scale. The high tensile material properties along with the design of the bolt facilitate the absorption of the multiple high kinetic energy impacts while simultaneously and safely redirecting the force. In some embodiments, the bolt is formed of a steel alloy that has been heat treated using localized selective depth induction hardening.

Another advantage of the design of the target hanging assembly is that there is currently no similar product on the market such that it will fill a long-standing need. Further, when using a standard bolt and associated hardware to hold a steel plate target in place, the components including the bolt head become deformed or destroyed over a very short period of time, sometimes after only one impact by a bullet. In contrast, the conical or tapered head bolt in the new hanger assembly allows for the actual direct impact to the bolt's surface as well as indirect impact, which will help compensate for human error or miscalculation of shot placement (e.g., inaccuracy), for example, during close quarter or long-range target practice. Hence, the new bolt does not malfunction as a conventional bolt does (e.g., becoming seized on the target and the like).

As a result, the new target hanging assembly provides a long-term cost savings for a user such as an operator of a shooting range because it reduces the cost of replacement of the hanging assembly parts when a target requires replacement. Instead of replacing conventional bolts frequently under extreme use, the new design can be reused and/or left in place for a much longer duration due to how it resists extremely harsh treatment including repeated high-energy impacts while still performing its intended purpose of supporting or hanging a replaceable target in desired location in a range.

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a hanging or mounting bolt 100 for use in a target hanging assembly of the present description (as shown, for example, as 200 in FIGS. 2 and 3 ). As shown, the bolt 100 includes a head 110 with a cylindrical body 112 with a height in the range of 0.25 to 2 inches (and with one useful implementation having a height or thickness of about 0.75 inches) and with an outer diameter (OD) in the range of 0.5 to 2.5 inches (and with one useful implementation having an OD in the range of 1.5 to 2 inches such as at about 1.75 inches). The bolt head has a first or outer surface 114 on a first side of the body 112 and a second or inner surface 116 on a second side of the body 112, with the inner surface 116 typically being planar to mate flush with an outer face or side of a metal target.

In contrast to conventional bolts, though, the first or outer surface 114 of the bolt head 110 is cone shaped or conical. Stated differently, the surface 114 is tapered and extends outward from the first side of the body 112 at a taper angle, θ, as measured from a vertical plane extending from the sidewall of the body 112 of the bolt head 110 to form a point 115. The taper angle, θ, may be varied to practice the invention but preferably is in the range of 40 to 80 degrees and more preferably in the range of 45 to 70 degrees with one useful embodiment using a taper angle, θ, of about (within 2 degrees of) 60 degrees.

The bolt 100 further includes shank 120 extending outward from a center of the inner surface 116 of the bolt head 110. The shank 120 of this bolt embodiment includes an inner square section 122, which is sized to be received within a square-shaped hole or opening in a target, which acts as a locating/positioning feature of the target, so that the bolt 100 does not turn during mounting/assembly and disassembly to avoid the need for more than one tool to hang or replace a metal target. The square section 122 typically has a length matching or somewhat smaller than a thickness of a metal target/plate (e.g., may have a width in the range of 0.5 to 1.0 inches with one embodiment using 0.63 inches and may have a length in the range of 0.25 to 1.0 inches with one embodiment being 0.5 inches for use with 0.5-inch thick targets). The section 122 may have three to five sides or more to match the shape of the hole or passageway in the target. The combination of a square section 122 on the bolt and a square (or other matching shaped) hole in the target is useful as it only requires single side application of turning force on the nut side of the assembly as the inner square portion 122 is captured in the receiving hole in the target/plate and limits the turning of the bolt 100 as force is applied to the nut with a wrench or other type of tool used to torque down nuts.

Adjacent the square section 122, the shank 120 further includes a cylindrical section 124 extending outward from the head 110 to a threaded end or section 130. The shank 120 and threaded end/section 130 may have an overall length of about 1.5 inches. The cylindrical section 124 of the shank 120 has a diameter and length (e.g., 0.63-inch OD and about 1.0 inches in length) chosen to match that of a hanging strap and one or more washers or similar mounting components and to allow it to be fed through the hole or opening in the target/plate. The section 124 may be blank as shown. The threaded end or section is sized (e.g., with a desired OD) and threaded to mate with conventional fasteners such as standard sized nuts used to affix the bolt 100 to a metal target/plate. The cone surface 114 may be smooth as shown or may include facets (be a faceted surface). The body 112 of the head 110 may be cylindrical in shape or may have different cross-sectional shapes and may include one or more facets or faces such as to mate with a conventional wrench or similar tool in embodiments that do not include the square section 122 on the shank 120.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a target hanging assembly 240 of the present description showing assembly components prior to assembly or hanging of a metal target 250 at a target range (not shown). As shown, the bolt 100 is positioned on a first or target side 252 of the metal target 250, which is shown in a partial view to be a rectangular metal plate that may have a thickness in the range of 0.25 to 1.0 inches such about 0.5 inches or the like. The metal target 250 may include a receiving hole 258 that extends from the first or target side 252 through to a second or rear side 254 of the metal target 250. In this embodiment, the receiving hole 258 is square shaped to receive the square section 122 of the shank 120 of the bolt 100 and to block the bolt 100 from turning when the bolt 100 is fully inserted into the hole 258. The body of the target 250 is typically planar and made of steel.

A hanging strap 260 is provided that may also be made of metal such as steel, and the strap 260 typically extends from support above in the range at a desired target location (e.g., a desired distance from the shooting station) and has a length useful for fixing the height of the target 250 upon its attachment to the strap 260. The strap has an elongated body and a hole 264 proximate to one end through which the shank 120 of the bolt 100 is passed after being passed through the target 250 to attach the target 250 to the hanging strap 260.

The hanging strap 260 typically has planar front and back surfaces, with the front surface mating with the second or rear side 254 of the target 250 so that the strap 260 is protected from impact by the body of the target 250 during use of the assembly 240 at a range. The assembly 240 further includes one, two, or more washers 270 and a nut 280, all of which may be formed of a metal such as a steel, and the nut 280 is threaded onto the threaded section 130 of the bolt 100 and tightened or torqued to tightly press the washers 270 against the hanging strap 260 (and the strap 260 against the rear side 254 of the target 250 with the body 122 of the bolt head 110 pressed snugly against the front side 252 of the target 250.

FIG. 3 illustrates the components of the hanging assembly 240 in this fully assembled and tightened/torqued arrangement or state. As shown, projectiles or bullets fired at the front side/surface 252 of the target 250 may strike the bolt head 110, with most typically impacting on the conical or tapered front surface 114 which limits undesirable ricochets and better absorbs the forces associated with such impacts. FIG. 4 shows the assembly 240 of FIG. 3 with the target/plate 250 being semi-transparent to show the four-side section 122 of the shank 120 tightened down in situ using the square receiving hole 258 in the body of the target/plate 250. Arrow D is used to show that tightening of the nut 280 acts to force the strap 260 into an abutting arrangement with the rear side 254 of the body of the target/plate 250.

In some embodiments, the target may not include a square (or three to five or more sided/faceted) through hole to restrain rotation of an inserted mounting bolt but, instead, may simply include a circular hole sized to allow passage of the bolt shank. In such cases, it may be useful for the mounting bolt to be configured to receive a tool in its head to allow a user to easily restrain its rotation while tightening a nut on its threaded end.

In this regard, FIG. 5 illustrates a side perspective view of another exemplary mounting bolt (or hanging bolt) 500 useful in target hanging assemblies of the present description. The bolt 500 is similar to bolt 100 of FIG. 1 and similar features are not described in detail again here but should be understood from the description of FIG. 1 . In particular, the bolt 500 includes a head 510 with a cylindrical body 512, and the body 512 has a front or first surface 514 that is tapered at a taper angle, θ, to a point 515 and a planar rear or second surface 516 opposite the front surface for mating with planar target. The bolt 500 includes a shank 520 that differs from the shank 120 of bolt 100 in that it does not include a faceted (or “square”) section but instead is wholly blank for its length up to the mating/integral threaded section 530.

The head 510 of the bolt 500 also differs from the head 110 of bolt 100 in that it includes an access or receiving hole (or recessed surface) 518 in its outer sidewall for receiving a restraining tool (not shown but may take the form similar to a common Allen wrench, a round pin, or the like with sized and shaped to be inserted within the hole 518 and mate with its surfaces). The hole 518 may be circular as shown or have sides (be faceted) as is common for Allen wrenches and similar restraining or driving tools. In the bolt 500 embodiment of FIG. 5 , a single hole 518 is shown that may be 0.25 inches in diameter and have a depth in the range of 0.15 to 0.35 inches with 0.25 inches used for the depth in one useful implementation of the bolt 500. The hole 518 is useful for holding the main body 510 of the bolt 500 in place while a nut threaded onto the threaded section or end 530 is tightened down with a wrench (not shown) or another useful tool.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a target hanging assembly 640 including the bolt 500 of FIG. 5 . The assembly 640 includes other components similar to the assembly 240 that are numbered similarly in FIG. 6 and the description of FIGS. 2-4 are applicable to these components. The steel target 250 may differ in assembly 640 as it may have a circular through hole instead of the faceted/sided hole 258 shown in FIG. 2 , sized with a diameter larger than the OD of the shank 520 of bolt 500.

In FIG. 6 , the exploded view (or preassembly view) of the assembly 640 shows that the hole 518 in the bolt head 510 is oriented so that the hole 518 lines up with the edge radius in the corner of the steel target 250. This assembly configuration or positioning of the hole 518 is useful to ensure that during use in a shooting range or the like that an impact where shrapnel/spall blasts from the plate's front surface/face 252 causes the shrapnel/spall to impact the body 512 of the bolt head 510 in portions opposite or distal to the hole 518. Placing the hole 518 for a tool on the opposite side of the bolt 500 impacted by the blast protects the tool-access hole 518 from damage and prolongs the useful life of the bolt 500.

FIG. 7 is a side perspective view of the target hanging assembly 640 of FIG. 6 after fully assembly has been completed. FIG. 8 is a side sectional view of the assembly 640 of FIG. 7 toward the completion of assembly with opposing forces shown by arrows 870 and 872 as they would be applied by a tool (not shown) in the receiving or tool-access hole 518 in the bolt 500 and a wrench (not shown) turning the nut 280. FIG. 7 shows the orientation of the hole 518 toward the radiused corner of the target 250 after full assembly. FIGS. 7 and 8 show that in this implementation only washers 270 (two in this non-limiting example) are used with the nut 280 on the back side of the target 250 and hanging strap 260.

In some embodiments, it may be useful to provide a washer or similar component in the target hanging assembly such as to limit possible loosening or rotation of components and possible partial or full disassembly during use at a practice range. To this end, FIG. 9 illustrates a side perspective view of a mounting bolt (or hanging bolt) 900 with another useful design of the present description. The bolt 900 is similar to bolt 500 of FIG. 5 in that it includes a head 910 with a cylindrical body 912 having a tool-access hole 918 in its sidewall as well as having a front surface 914 tapered at a taper angle, θ, to a point 915.

The bolt 900 differs from bolt 500 in that the rear or second surface/side 916 includes a recessed or counterbored surface 919 for, as shown in FIG. 10 , a washer 1090. The recessed surface 919 is centrally located and has a circular shape. The bolt 900 has a shank 920 that is cylindrical and blank and extends outward from a central point from the recessed surface 919, with its longitudinal axis orthogonal to a plane extending through the recessed surface 919 (and a plane containing the rear or second surface 916). FIG. 11 is an exploded view of a target hanging assembly 940 including the bolt 900 of FIG. 9 and also including the washer 1090 as shown in FIG. 10 disposed between the bolt head 910 and the target's front surface/side 252 within the recessed surface 919. FIG. 12 is a side perspective view of the target hanging assembly 940 of FIG. 11 after fully assembly has been completed, and FIG. 13 is a side sectional view of the assembly 940 of FIG. 12 .

As shown in FIGS. 9-12 , the bolt 900 has a counterbore 919 on the surface 916 opposite the tapered cone or front surface 914 of the head 910. This counterbore or counterbored/recessed surface 919 is used to hold a washer 1090, which may be a metal (e.g., steel) washer, in place in the assembly 1140. In some embodiments, the surface 919 has a depth chosen to be a predefined amount, such as 0.0001 to 0.0005 inches, less than a thickness of the washer 1090 such that the washer 1090 extends outward from the second or rear surface 916 of the bolt head's body 912. Then, upon assembly as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 , the washer 1090 is crushed, at least partially, under the force of assembly, which adds extra friction to the counterbore planar surface 919 as well as the front planar surface 252 of the metal target/plate 250 and the rear planar surface 916 of the bolt head body 912 (i.e., shared clamping surfaces) when the full assembly 1140 is tightened down.

As shown in FIGS. 11-13 , the assembly 1140 also includes a second washer 270 to mate with the back surface of the hanging strap 260 when disposed between the nut 280 and the strap 260. This washer 270 is used in conjunction with the washer 1090 in the counterbore 919 to apply a total of four planar friction surfaces by way of the washer setup and one friction surface from the back planar surface 916 of the bolt head body 912 against the front planar surface 252 of the steel target/plate 250 as part of the fully target hanging assembly 1140.

This disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The example embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain principles and practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Thus, although illustrative example embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying figures, it is to be understood that this description is not limiting and that various other changes and modifications may be affected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure.

For example, some embodiments shown and described herein included a tool access hole (or recessed surface) in the bolt head. While this is useful in many applications, there are some settings where this feature may be eliminated. Particularly, in another embodiment, the body of the bolt head does not require a tool access hole to assist in the tightening down of the bolt. The use of friction style washers would impart enough force on the counterbore recess surface on the rear of the bolt and steel plate/steel hanger. This will allow the process of assembly to be performed simply by holding the bolt in place from the front until the washers have started to impart tightening friction forces to the adjacent surfaces using a tool and applying torque from the nut side of the assembly. This “no tool hole” version of the bolt has advantages including allowing for differing hand strengths and less tools needed during assembly. While not shown, this embodiment will readily be understood by those skilled in the art from a review of at least FIG. 9 below (e.g., with the elimination of recessed surface/hole 918). 

I claim:
 1. An assembly for hanging metal shooting targets from a hanging strap, comprising: a metal target with a body having a hole extending through from a front planar surface to a rear planar surface; a mounting bolt including a head with a body extending from a front surface to a rear surface and further including a shank extending from the rear surface to a threaded section; and a nut mating with the threaded section after insertion of the shank of the bolt through the hole in the metal target and through the hanging strap, wherein the front surface of the body of the bolt head is tapered from a sidewall of the body of the bolt head to a central point to have a conical shape.
 2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the front surface of the body of the bolt head is tapered at a taper angle in the range of 40 to 80 degrees.
 3. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the taper angle is about 60 degrees.
 4. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the body is cylindrical in shape with a height in the range of 0.25 to 2.0 inches and with an outer diameter in the range of 0.5 to 2.5 inches.
 5. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the mounting bolt is formed of a metal with a Rockwell hardness in the range of 48 to 60 HRC.
 6. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the mounting bolt is formed of a steel alloy that has been heat treated using localized selective depth induction hardening.
 7. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the shank includes a blank section proximate to the threaded section and a section with three or more sides proximate to the bolt head and wherein the hole in the body of the metal target has a cross sectional shape configured for receiving the section with three or more sides of the shank.
 8. The assembly of claim 1, further including a washer, wherein the rear surface of the body of the bolt head includes a centrally located counterbored surface configured for receiving the washer and wherein the counterbored surface has a depth less than a thickness of the washer.
 9. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the body of the bolt head is cylindrical in shape and includes a tool access hole or recessed surface located between the front and rear surfaces, the tool access hole or recessed surface being shaped and sized to receive a portion of a tool used to restrain rotation of the mounting bolt while concurrently tightening the nut on the threaded section.
 10. The assembly of claim 9, wherein, after assembling of the assembly is completed, the bolt head is oriented with the tool access hole or recessed surface proximate to a corner of the body of the metal target.
 11. An assembly for hanging metal shooting targets from a hanging strap, comprising: a metal target with a body having a hole extending through from a front surface to a rear surface; and a mounting bolt including a head with a body extending from a front surface to a rear surface and further including a shank extending from the rear surface to a threaded section, the shank being configured for insertion in the hole of the metal target, wherein the front surface of the body of the bolt head is tapered from a sidewall of the body of the bolt head, and wherein the front surface of the body of the bolt head is tapered at a taper angle in the range of 40 to 80 degrees.
 12. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the taper angle is about 60 degrees.
 13. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the body is cylindrical in shape with a height in the range of 0.25 to 2.0 inches and with an outer diameter in the range of 0.5 to 2.5 inches.
 14. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the mounting bolt is formed of a metal with a Rockwell hardness in the range of 48 to 60 HRC.
 15. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the mounting bolt is formed of a steel alloy that has been heat treated using localized selective depth induction hardening.
 16. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the shank includes a blank section proximate to the threaded section and a section with three or more sides proximate to the bolt head and wherein the hole in the body of the metal target has a cross sectional shape configured for receiving the section with three or more sides of the shank.
 17. The assembly of claim 11, further including a washer, wherein the rear surface of the body of the bolt head includes a centrally located counterbored surface configured for receiving the washer and wherein the counterbored surface has a depth less than a thickness of the washer.
 18. The assembly of claim 11, wherein the body of the bolt head is cylindrical in shape and includes a tool access hole or recessed surface located between the front and rear surfaces, the tool access hole or recessed surface being shaped and sized to receive a portion of a tool used to restrain rotation of the mounting bolt while concurrently tightening of a nut on the threaded section.
 19. The assembly of claim 18, wherein, after assembling of the assembly is completed, the bolt head is oriented with the tool access hole or recessed surface proximate to a corner of the body of the metal target.
 20. An assembly for hanging a metal target from a hanging strap, comprising: a mounting bolt including a head with a body extending from a front surface to a rear surface and further including a shank extending from the rear surface to a threaded section; and a nut mating with the threaded section after insertion of the shank of the bolt through a hole in the metal target and through the hanging strap, wherein the front surface of the body of the bolt head is tapered from a sidewall of the body of the bolt head to a central point to have a conical shape, and wherein the front surface of the body of the bolt head is tapered at a taper angle in the range of 40 to 80 degrees.
 21. The assembly of claim 20, wherein the taper angle is about 60 degrees.
 22. The assembly of claim 20, wherein the body is cylindrical in shape with a height in the range of 0.25 to 2.0 inches and with an outer diameter in the range of 0.5 to 2.5 inches.
 23. The assembly of claim 20, wherein the mounting bolt is formed of a metal with a Rockwell hardness in the range of 48 to 60 HRC.
 24. The assembly of claim 20, wherein the mounting bolt is formed of a steel alloy that has been heat treated using localized selective depth induction hardening.
 25. The assembly of claim 20, wherein the shank includes a blank section proximate to the threaded section and a section with three or more sides proximate to the bolt head and wherein the hole in the body of the metal target has a cross sectional shape configured for receiving the section with three or more sides of the shank.
 25. The assembly of claim 20, further including a washer, wherein the rear surface of the body of the bolt head includes a centrally located counterbored surface configured for receiving the washer and wherein the counterbored surface has a depth less than a thickness of the washer.
 26. The assembly of claim 20, wherein the body of the bolt head is cylindrical in shape and includes a tool access hole or recessed surface located between the front and rear surfaces, the tool access hole or recessed surface being shaped and sized to receive a portion of a tool used to restrain rotation of the mounting bolt while concurrently tightening a nut on the threaded section. 